SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Igbo, African & Chinese Studies

CONTRIBUTORS:

Nweya, G. O.
Mbah, B. M.

ABSTRACT:

The study of clause structure provides information about the form and hierarchy of
clausal constituents. Previous studies on the Igbo language relied heavily on the unified
approach to the analysis of clause structure and clausal domains which permit one head
to bear more than one feature. This approach does not provide detailed information
about the content and hierarchical structure of the clausal domains. This study,
therefore, analysed the structures of the Igbo verb phrase (VP), tense phrase (TP) and
complementiser phrase (CP) with a view to determining the structure, hierarchical order
and interaction of lexical and functional projections in the VP, TP and CP domains and
make generalisations in terms of clause structure, information structure and
cartography. The theoretical framework adopted for the study is the Minimalist
Program. Primary data were elicited from purposively selected native speakers of the
Igbo language. Instruments for primary data collection include elicitation, observation,
and introspection; while secondary data were gathered from extant literary and
grammar texts. Acquired data were subjected to grammaticality judgement, interlinear
glossing and qualitative analysis. The study discovered that the structure of the VP
domain is ʋP-ApplP-VP-DP-AdvP-PP. The syntax of monotransitive constructions
involves one probe, the light ʋ while that of double object constructions (DOCs)
involves two probes: ʋ and Appl. In this domain ʋP and ApplP are phase domains. The
study also discovered that the structure of the TP domain is ApplP-NegP-AspP-TP.
From the interaction of TP elements, the study observed that Appl is associated with
both TP and ʋP domains and it is possible for T and ASP morphemes to co-occur in
Igbo. With respect to the CP domain, the study discovered that the structure of the CP
domain is ForceP-TopP-FocP-InterP. The three main complementisers in Igbo are nà
‘that’ (with strong declarative feature), mà ‘if/whether’ (with strong interrogative
feature) and kà ‘that’ (with strong imperative feature). The syntax of yes/no questions
involves one probe: INTER; the syntax of wh-questions involves two probes: INTER
and FOC; while the syntax of focus and topic involves one probe: FOC and TOP
respectively. The low tone question morpheme is for clause typing while the
movement of wh-words to the clausal left periphery is for focusing and extended
projection principle. The study also observed that FOC and TOP is overtly and covertly
marked respectively. Based on these observations, the study assumed that the structure
of the Igbo basic clause is ForceP-TopP-FocP-InterP-ApplP-NegP-AspP-TP-vP-ApplPVP-
DP-AdvP-PP. The study concludes that syntactic elements that manifest in the
clausal domains including the CP are maximal projections and they provide information
about the Igbo basic clause in terms of clause typing, clause structure and cartography.
They also indicate that scope does not always translate to dominance and that Rizzi’s
(1997) CP structure is not strictly universal.
.
Key Words: Igbo, Clause Structure, Cartography and Complementiser Phrase